Brief 1 –

Produce a 1 minute video keeping in mind continuity, colour, lighting, props, location, sound and composition. The video must be shot solely within your lockdown 5km.

Marking:

Location shooting – 15%
Script and Shooting Script – 15%
Shots, Sound and B-Roll Collection – 15%
Editing and Presentation -15%
FInal Piece – 20%

Total 80%

Essential Tools:
Google Photos (or your phone note ability)
OneDrive
Storyboarder  Free Storyboarding Software

Location Shooting Overview:

Notes: Scouting Locations:

1. Know your script.
   In this case think of your theme when looking for locations
2. Scout at the right time.
   When is the shot best? Look at timing… food at lunchtime? Activity during a soccer game. Find out when things are happening?
3. Look at light.
   Where can you reasonably expect the light tobe? Will it be pointing directly at the camera? Check light conditions for your equipment.
4. Follow the sun.
   Outdoors need light too… or do they? Is the sun pointing at camera at a certain time?
5. Check for power supplies.
   Will batteries be enough? What equipment wil you be using?
6. Listen to the Space
   Can you use the sound in place or will it have to be replaced? Is it too noisy/windy etc.? Is there music etc that will suit a shot?
7. Examine the elements.
   Rain, Sleet, Sun etc but also external factor such as janitors or deliveries etc.
8. Decide where to set up.
   Where is the best shot with all this in mind? Where is the action space?
9. Get permission
   Do you need permission to shoot here? Ask people’s permission etc…
10. Evaluate the area.
    What is happening in the area? Will there be interference? Wifi? Phone etc….
11. Take notes!
    Take Phots, thoughts and notes on the locations. Lighting needed? Sound set up needed? Transitions and shot ideas.

Resource: Composition Reminders

https://nofilmschool.com/2015/09/9-composition-techniques-make-images-eye-catching-biological-level

Resources: Links:

Mindmapping Tool: https://coggle.it/
Image/Web Archiving: http://www.pinterest.com
Photo Archiving: http://photos.google.com
Sound Effects: https://freesound.org/
Vimeo for Video: http://www.vimeo.com

Script Writing Overview: ScriptWritingFormat

Shot Script Overview: Shooting-Script

Script Writing Overview and Workshop:

script-writing-super-quick

Recommended Books on Script Writing:

Syd Field- The Screenwriter’s Workbook

Syd Field: Screenplay- The Foundations of Screenwriting

James N Frey: How to Write Damn Good Fiction: Advanced Techniques for Dramatic Storytelling

 Character Development 

1. Communication style: How does your character talk? Does she favor certain words or phrases that make her distinct and interesting? What about the sound of her voice? Much of our personality comes through our speech, so think about the way your character is going to talk. Her style of communication should be distinctive and unique.

2. History: Where does your character come from? Think out his childhood and adolescence. What events shaped his personality? What did his father do for a living? How about his mother? How many siblings does he have? Was it a loving family or an abusive, dysfunctional one? What events led him to the career choices he made? You may not need to provide all this background to your reader, but it’s good to know as the writer. It helps give him substance in your mind as well.

3. Appearance: What does she look like? This may be the least important ingredient to make your character a person to the reader, but you should still know it in your own mind. Not every character needs to be drop-dead gorgeous, by the way. Most people aren’t.

4. Relationships: What kind of friends and family does he have? How does he relate to them? Is he very social or reclusive, or somewhere in between? People can be defined by the company they keep, so this can be a good way to define your character.

5. Ambition: Just as this is the central letter of the acrostic, so too this concept is absolutely central to your character and plot. What is her passion in life? What goal is she trying to accomplish through your story? What is her unrecognized, internal need and how will she meet it?

6. Character defect: Everyone has some personality trait that irritates his friends or family. Is he too self-centered? Too competitive? Too lazy? Too compliant? Too demanding of others? Don’t go overboard on this. After all, you want your reader to like the character. But he’ll feel more real if he has some flaw. This is usually connected to his unrecognized need (see Ambition) and often gets resolved through his character arch.

7. Thoughts: What kind of internal dialogue does your character have? How does she think through her problems and dilemmas? Is her internal voice the same as her external? If not, does this create internal conflict for her? In real life we don’t have the benefit of knowing someone’s innermost thoughts, but a novel allows us to do just that, so use it to your advantage.

8. Everyman-ness: How relatable is your character? While James Bond is fun to watch on screen, most of us aren’t uber-trained special agent-assassins so it’s a little hard to relate to him on a personal level. On the other hand, Kurt Russell’s character in the movie Breakdown was far more ordinary and relatable, creating a more visceral experience. Be careful not to make your character too elite or he may be too difficult to live vicariously through. And that, after all, is the key to suspense.

9. Restrictions: More than a personality flaw, what physical or mental weakness must your character overcome through her arch? After all, even Superman had Kryptonite. This helps humanize your character, making her more sympathetic and relatable.

The goal is to make your readers feel something for your character. The more they care about them, the more emotion they’ll invest in your story. And maybe that’s the secret.

Protagonist and Antagonist

Please enter Shared Drive URL here:

Storyboard templates:

Tutorial- Adobe Premiere, the basics

Files available for this session can be downloaded here available here.

Production Management Roles:

Overview article on the positions in Production managemnt and what they do.

https://www.careersinfilm.com/film-set/

Production Schedule Suggested:

Production Management Schedule

Soumd Effects and Foley: https://www.freesound.org/

Royalty Free Music: http://incompetech.com/music/

The Haunted House 1

The Haunted House 2- George Mellier

The Black Imp- George Melier

 Harold Lloyd -SafetyFirst

Things to Remember:

• Get as good a quality of sound on location as possible.
• Take Audio of the silence in the area. 3oseconds- 1 minute should be good enough.
• If you can record sound fx on site it will save mixing later.
• Do not rely on actor’s audio being of good enough quality onsite.
• Consider revoicing film or at least be prepared for that eventuality.
• Review rouch shot of video focusing on soiund ONLY.
  • Take a notebook and mark the time and Sounds needed etc. A shooting script for sound only (I often add asound collumn to the shooting script for this purpose.
  • Take notes of speech and possible rerecordings needed
  • Take note of Sound FX that are needed
  • WHat would the music be like?
  • Would another sound suit better here?
• Consider Boom mics or lapel mics too.
• Sometimes things sound better when they aren’t the things they are. Sizzling bacon and rain fro example. A watermelon being smashed with a hammer rather than a human head. Get creative. Plan for it!
• Exagerate slightly then pull back.
• SOund is integral to all film. It can make an amzing film crap or a crap film amazing. It is key to emotion.

 EXAMPLE FILES: